(19)
(11) EP 2 328 280 A3

(12) EUROPEAN PATENT APPLICATION

(88) Date of publication A3:
13.07.2011 Bulletin 2011/28

(43) Date of publication A2:
01.06.2011 Bulletin 2011/22

(21) Application number: 11155462.2

(22) Date of filing: 11.07.2003
(51) International Patent Classification (IPC): 
H04B 1/66(2006.01)
(84) Designated Contracting States:
AT BE BG CH CY CZ DE DK EE ES FI FR GB GR HU IE IT LI LU MC NL PT RO SE SI SK TR

(30) Priority: 08.11.2002 US 291320
15.07.2002 US 396363 P

(62) Application number of the earlier application in accordance with Art. 76 EPC:
10177289.5 / 2276181
03764499.4 / 1532746

(71) Applicant: Apple Inc.
Cupertino, CA 95014 (US)

(72) Inventors:
  • Haskell, Barin G.
    Mountain View, CA 94040-3960 (US)
  • Singer, David W.
    San Fransisco, CA (US)
  • Dumitras, Adriana
    Sunnyvale, CA (US)
  • Puri, Atul
    Cupertino, CA (US)

(74) Representative: Howell, Matthew Dafydd et al
Withers & Rogers LLP Goldings House 2 Hays Lane
London SE1 2HW
London SE1 2HW (GB)

   


(54) Method and apparatus for variable accuracy inter-picture timing specification for digital video encoding


(57) A method and apparatus for variable accuracy inter-picture timing specification for digital video encoding is disclosed. Specifically the present invention discloses a system that allows the relative timing of nearby video pictures to be encoded in a very efficient manner. In one embodiment, the display time difference between a current video picture (105) and a nearby video picture is determined. The display time difference is then encoded (180) into a digital representation of the video picture. In a preferred embodiment, the nearby video picture is the most recently transmitted stored picture. For coding efficiency, the display time difference may be encoded using a variable length coding system or arithmetic coding. In an alternate embodiment, the display time difference is encoded as a power of two to reduce the number of bits transmitted.







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